I was thinking that I'd get the new Mac Pro so I went to the Apple Store and the guy I spoke with showed me the new 27" iMac. Because I don't shoot video, he said I would be really happy with the iMac.

I don't edit video. Although I guess some day I probably will have to learn but that's a different discussion.

So if money was no issue I'd just get the Mac Pro but the idea of getting in at half the cost is really appealing to me. Also, with the iMac I might be able to get a new 15' laptop with I really need as well.

There are countless discussions all over the net on this. It really comes down to your priorities.

Pointing you to an iMac just because you don't edit video is a pretty short sighted perspective.

Being able to run an SSD boot drive, installing large backup and high speed scratch drives or creating an internal raid are all compelling reasons to run a Mac Pro. There is also the freedom to choose your display, and upgrade it later without abandoning the entire computer.

I'm on the road often, and need a solution that travels easier, so my main computer is a MacBook Pro. I have a slightly older last version G4 PowerBook as a back-up.

If I was not traveling, or did more studio based work, then I would consider an iMac. The screen is quite good, and if you add RAM and a fast external drive as a scratch disk, then you will likely find a quick working combination._________________Ciao!

The iMac display is quite good and will calibrate accurately. Any of the major brand calibration systems work well with it. They couldn't survive in the market and ignore the iMac.

Yes, OWC does offer drive mods. Just be sure you want to go to that much trouble for the small benefit. SSD drives launch the OS and apps quickly, but do little to benefit PS, C1 or LR once they're open. The esata mod isn't significantly faster than FW800 for long read/write of large files. If the difference is important to you then a Mac Pro is a better option all together.

My concern is the glossy display screen on an imac. I don't feel you can accurately judge skin tones and color corrections with it. I actually posted this topic, matt vs. glossy, on my blog. If your work is for web only, I guess it doesn't matter but if you work for magazines and any other printed media it does!

Well now that this thread is back, I ended up getting the Mac Pro, duel quad core with raid card, 8 tb HD, 16 gb ram and the NEC Spectracolor(26in?) with the built in color calibrator. Very happy with it, love the monitor WAY better than mac's monitor.